Frozen Watermelons
by nevermore199
Summary: Jacob and Bella have been best friends for years. They never thought they'd be anything more than that. But love has an uncanny way of proving people wrong. AU, Jacob x Bella.
1. the boy next door

**Well, here's something of a kinda Twilight longfic. Actually, it's more like a series of drabbles/short pieces or whatever you'd like to call them. But it does form some kind of story...**

**This is heavily and extremely AU, and features primarily Jacob and Bella, although plenty of other characters from the series will make appearances. Oh, and in this, Jacob and Bella are the same age. It just makes thing easier, okay?**

**I think that's everything you need to know. Um, have fun.**

* * *

They move into the house when Bella is nine, a month before she starts fourth grade. The only thing she's sad about is her parents' divorce, because she loves her father and loves her mother and hates to see them sad and apart, but Renee promises Bella that it's for the best, and that Daddy will come to visit at Thanksgiving.

After they arrive, Bella sits on the front lawn, her chin cupped in her hand as she watches the movers taking furniture into the house. She occasionally glances up at the clear blue sky, watching white clouds drift lazily across.

"Hey!" someone calls.

Bella stands up and turns around. Behind her, a dark-skinned, black-haired boy is smiling and waving. He looks to be around the same age as her. A dull orange basketball is lying in the grass beside him.

"Hey!" the boy says again. "Hey, you! Are you the new neighbor?"

"Yeah," Bella calls back. "I'm Bella Swan."

"I'm Jacob Black, but you can call me Jake," the boy says. He picks up his basketball. "You wanna play?"

Bella glances at the door, then back at Jacob. "I don't really like to play ball," she admits.

"Oh." Jacob looks a little disappointed. "Okay." He starts to turn away.

"Wait a second!" Bella calls, suddenly feeling a surge of guilt. "How about I ask if you can come over for dinner? I'll ask my mom to invite you guys! Would that be okay?"

Jacob's grin returns. "Yeah! That'd be really cool! I gotta go tell Dad!" He pumps his arm in a wild wave. "Bye, Bella!" he yells, running toward the door.

Bella waves to his back. "Bye, Jake," she says softly.

**

* * *

**

Some of you will probably be pleased to know that Jacob x Bella is now my favorite Twilight pairing. Edward x Bella is okay enough, but Jake and Bell are just kinda cute together…


	2. a walk in the park

**Here's the second installment in our lovely piece. Do enjoy, won't you?**

* * *

After that first day, they spend a lot of time together—they play at school, they play after school, they go to the park as often as possible and swing and climb things and talk and laugh. Bella makes other friends, but Jacob is special.

One day, they're sitting on the swing set at the park, and Jacob says, "Hey, look, Bella!" He points. "A frog!"

Bella looks. "Oh. Whatever."

Jacob scowls. "Do you think _anything_ is cool, Bella? You don't like frogs or playing ball."

Bella scowls right back. "I like plenty of things, Jacob Black," she sniffs. "I don't have to like the same things as you."

"You've gotta like _something_, Bella," Jacob counters.

"I like to read. That's something."

"Aw, Bella, reading is so…school."

"How would you know, Jacob Black? You've never read a thing in your life."

"Aw, I've read plenty."

Bella laughs. "Yeah, right. You probably only read the notes from your dad that he leaves for you on the kitchen counter."

"You're such a bookworm, Bella."

"Thanks."

**

* * *

**

Bam.


	3. small things

****

This story is really kind of fun. You know? I like it. I hope you all like it. Anyway, here's Chapter Three.

* * *

The summer before Jacob and Bella start sixth grade, Jacob's father holds a Fourth of July party and invites a lot of people, including Bella and her mother. Most of the kids there are younger than Bella, but she doesn't mind.

"Hi, Jake," she says to Jacob as she builds a hamburger on a paper plate.

Jacob turns from his conversation with a few other boys, grinning eagerly. "Bella! Hey!" He looks back at the boys he's with. "Oh…these are my cousins. Quil, Embry, and Sam." He points to each one as he introduces them. "Guys, this is my neighbor, Bella."

The boy Sam nods. "Nice to meet you, Bella." He looks middle-school age—older than Bella, at any rate. The other two, Quil and Embry (strange names, Bella thinks), smile. They both look around the same age as Jacob.

"It's nice to meet you," Bella says politely. She plops the top bun on her hamburger and heads for the potato chips.

"She's cute, Jacob," Sam whispers very quietly. Bella stiffens. Quil and Embry snicker.

"Shut up, guys!" Jacob whispers harshly. "Bella's a _friend_."

"Right," Quil laughs.

"Get out of here!"

Bella turns around as she hears the other boys walking away. "Everything okay, Jake?"

Jacob's face is red. "Yeah, it's fine…"

Bella gives Jacob an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Don't let them bug you, Jake."

"It's fine," Jacob says, shaking Bella's hand off. "I know they're just teasing. I hardly ever see them, after all. They live up in Washington."

"Really? That's a ways away."

"Yeah." Jacob nods. "Dad and I used to live up there, but we moved here to Phoenix when I was two, after Mom d—"

He suddenly breaks off, his face twisted in pain, and Bella looks down at the ground.

"Want some watermelon?" she asks softly after a few seconds.

"Yeah," Jacob nods, talking to the grass. "Yeah, that'd be great."

**

* * *

**

So, as you can see, Jacob's mom isn't exactly alive in this. Bella and Jake both have their own problems, but it's not the focus of the story. (The focus of the story is their super duper lovey **love****.)**


	4. no matter what

**In this (short) installment, Jacob totally sticks it to the man. Or, well, his stupid guy friends who are never named. Enjoy.**

* * *

Sometimes, when Jacob is out with certain guy friends, they tease him about going around with a girl. One day, when they're feeling particularly spirited, they say mockingly, "Aw, do you want to marry her, Jakie?"

"Shut up," Jacob replies darkly. "Bella's my friend."

After a little more teasing, the boys laugh and drop it. But Jacob knows that they'll bring it up again.

But then, he thinks, why does he keep hanging around with Bella if other people make fun of him for it?

_Because Bella's my friend,_ Jacob thinks immediately. _Because I don't care what anyone thinks. I won't let anything keep me from being Bella's friend._

From then on, he ignores his old guy friends almost completely.

**

* * *

**

Isn't that sweet? I think it's sweet. And I want to slap Jacob's invisible guy friends. But don't worry, they never come up again.


	5. it's just the hormones talking

**This one contains…well. Not exactly mature themes. But something that tiny children don't really need to know about. So.**

* * *

When Bella gets her first period at the age of twelve and a half, she feels totally different, and the same. Renee cries about how Bella isn't a little girl anymore, and it takes Bella a while to shake her off.

Bella sees Jacob at school the next day, and goes bright red as an unbidden image of Jacob with no shirt on pops into her head.

_What the—?_ Bella shakes her head wildly. _Why am I thinking of that?_

"Bella?" Jacob looks confused as he approaches. "You okay? You look kind of red."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Bella says shakily. "I, um, I have to use the bathroom…" She runs off to the nearest girls' room and hurries to the mirror, staring at herself with wide eyes. _What's wrong with me?_

Then she remembers what Renee told her the previous day. Something about hormones and how they act up when it's that time of the month.

_Oh._ Bella lets out a breath, and the panic seeps out of her. _Oh. It's only the hormones acting funny. It's nothing to worry about. In a few days, everything will be fine._

She nods and smiles. "Yeah," she says aloud. "That's all it is."

She goes outside and greets Jacob as though that moment hadn't happened, and the day goes on. But, strangely enough, it takes Bella a long time to get rid of the image of the shirtless Jacob.

_It's only the hormones,_ she tells herself all day. _It's nothing to worry about._

**

* * *

**

Da Nile, Bella dearest. You're swimming in it.

**Around here is where the first signs of Bella falling in love with Jacob surface. She doesn't realize it yet, though. Obviously.**


	6. jealousy

**This one features jealous Jake, confused Bella, and Mike Newton's first appearance. And the crowd goes wild.**

* * *

Jacob happens to be at his locker down the hall when Mike Newton asks Bella out for the first time. He hears Mike's low whisper, and feels the cold stab of jealousy piece his heart. Before he can do something stupid, he walks away.

Bella finds him during third period Earth Science, saying, "Jacob, what's the matter? You've been avoiding me."

"What's it to you?" Jacob spits coldly. Bella flinches in surprise at the sharpness of his tone.

"Jake, what's wrong?" she whispers. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Jacob mumbles, turning away, feeling ashamed of his actions. "Why don't you go hang out with _Mike Newton_, see how he's doing—"

"Mike?" Bella's eyebrow raises. "Why are we talking about Mike?"

"Don't most girls talk about their boyfriends?"

"_Boyfriend_?" Bella nearly shrieks. Half the class looks at her, and she blushes and quiets until they look away. When they do, Bella resumes whispering fiercely to Jacob. "Jake, I'm not dating Mike! I turned him down! You were mad because of _that_?"

Jacob's face is covered with surprise. "Huh? Really?"

Bella nods. "Yeah." Her face softens. "Were you jealous?"

"No way," Jacob says forcefully. He looks down. "I just…I thought that you'd rather spend time with him than me. I guess I got a little upset."

"Aw, don't be upset, Jake," Bella says teasingly, giving Jacob's shoulder a friendly punch. "You're my best friend. Why would I want to hang out with anyone else?"

Jacob grins. "I'm sorry. I guess I need to learn that I can't have you all to myself anymore, not now that you're popular with all the _boys_—"

"Oh, stop it," Bella laughs.

The bell rings, and Jacob and Bella head for their seats after giving each other quick smiles, and for the rest of the day, Jacob glides on _why would I want to hang out with anyone else?_

**

* * *

**

And this is where Jake's first signs of liking Bella come around. But, like Bella, he's too silly to realize it. Ah, people.

**RRE.**


	7. you're my wonderwall

**Sorry this one took longer than usual. I had this all ready, but then I felt like it sucked, so I rewrote it. This makes me feel better. **

* * *

One day, Bella is listening to the radio when she hears a song about wonderwalls and saving people and knowing what you have to do. It's a strange song and not quite within Bella's taste in music.

However, she later has a burning desire to go back and find the lyrics—and so she searches for them on the Internet. She reads them over and over, wondering why she wants to.

And then it hits her.

This song fits Jacob. It reminds her of what a great friend he is, how he's always there for her, always protecting her.

From then on, she listens to the song whenever she hears it.

**

* * *

**

The song Bella talks about is "Wonderwall" by Oasis. It's a nice song. Yes.

**RRE.**


	8. not quite my type

**POOL PARTY!**

* * *

A pair of rich twin girls throw a huge eighth-grade graduation party at their family's pool, and when Jacob gets there, the first thing he says to Bella is, "You don't look bad."

Bella goes a little pink, glancing down at her red two-piece. "Thanks." She grimaces slightly. "It's really not my type, but it was Mom's old one, and she said it was a waste of money to get a brand-new one…"

"It's fine, Bella," Jacob says with a wave of his hand. "You look great."

Bella looks embarrassed but pleased. "Aw, thanks." She turns her head and frowns. "I can think of a few people who would agree with you."

Jacob looks where Bella is looking, and scowls at the sight of Mike Newton and Tyler Crowley staring at Bella with ill-disguised awe.

"Jerks," he grumbles. "If you want me to beat them up for you, Bella, just say the word."

Bella laughs. "Thanks, but I don't think that'll be necessary. I just wish my mom had worn a one-piece when she was my age."

"I'll bet _they're_ not complaining," Jacob comments unhappily.

"Yeah." Bella sighs. "Hey, I think they've got watermelon over there at the food table. Want some?"

"You not much of a swimmer?"

"Not really," Bella admits as she and Jacob walk toward the food table. "I mean, I know how, I'm just not all that great at it. I only came to this thing because my friends were here."

"Ah."

"And for the watermelon, of course."

"Of course."

**

* * *

**

In case you haven't already noticed…the title doesn't really relate to much other than Jacob and Bella's shared love for watermelon. It doesn't have much significance, I guess. Maybe I'll come up with something later.

**RRE.**


	9. moving up in the world

**This one takes place on Jacob and Bella's last day before starting high school. Such a big moment…**

* * *

The last day of summer, Jacob and Bella go out for ice cream in the afternoon. While they wait, Jacob says, "You know, Bella, we're really moving up in the world, huh?"

"Yeah," Bella says, nodding. "Nothing says 'high society teens' like ninth grade."

Jacob chuckles. "At least now we get to have fun. We can go watch high school football games, go to pep rallies—"

"Oh, what fun," Bella says sarcastically.

"You need to get out more, Bella."

"And you think of nothing more than sports, Jacob. We're even."

The ice cream arrives—a chocolate ice cream cone for Jacob, and a vanilla one for Bella. They dig heartily into the frozen treats.

"Seriously, Bella, it's kinda cool," Jacob says through a mouthful of cold chocolate mush. "Being in high school…We're getting older. Pretty soon we'll be the cool teens that little kids stare at."

"And I've always wanted to be stared at by little kids."

"Lighten up a little, Bells."

"Whatever you say, Jake."

Jacob raises his ice cream cone. "I propose a toast. To high school!"

Bella giggles, but raises her cone and clinks it against Jacob's. "To high school," she agrees.

**

* * *

**

Well, they had to eat something other than watermelon, right?

**RRE.**


	10. pretty boy

**And this is where our respected Mr. Cullen comes into the picture. Ah.**

**Don't worry, JB fans—he'll only be around for a few chapters. But he's necessary, you see.**

* * *

It's not long after they enter high school that Bella develops a crush on the new boy—Edward Cullen. She tries her best to hide it around Jacob, but he's not stupid.

"What do you see in him, anyway?" he asks her bluntly one day. "He's nothing but a pretty boy with stupid hair."

"But he's a _nice_ pretty boy," Bella protests with a giggle. "And his hair is cute. You don't have to be so jealous, Jake."

"I am _not_ jealous."

"Seriously, it's no big deal." Bella sighs. "He'll never notice me anyway, so you've got nothing to worry about."

"Aw, come on, Bells," Jacob says. "Plenty of guys like you—or have you not been paying attention for the last two years?"

Bella sighs again. "Look, can we just not talk about this anymore?"

"Fine."

Jacob watches Bella as she walks away, and he frowns irritably. Why can't she notice that Edward's nothing more than a pretty face?

_But you're supposed to be her friend,_ a small voice reminds him. _You're supposed to support her, aren't you?_

Jacob shakes his head. _Not when she's making such a big mistake,_ he argues with himself. _I _am_ her friend. And so it's my job to protect her from creeps like _him_._

He heads off and tries to put Edward and Bella from his mind. But the small voice is still there, and although it's quieter, it asks him more than once if he really knows the reason.

**

* * *

**

You can accuse me of making Bella OOC, but remember that at this point, Bella is a little younger than in the actual series. So she'd probably react a little differently. She is a girl, after all.

**RRE.**


	11. candy hearts

**And now, a short little peek into Valentine's Day. I obviously don't spend much time on it. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm actually not a fan of the holiday. Ah, well.**

* * *

On the way to first period, Jacob catches Bella and says, "Here," thrusting a small box of candied hearts into her hand. He tries hard to ignore the valentine already in her hand, the one with the tag that says, "To Edward."

Bella blinks and looks down at the chocolate, confused. "Huh?"

"It's, you know, a friendship gift. Not like I have anyone else to give one to." Jacob shrugs. "You don't have to take it."

"No, no—I want it. Thanks so much, Jake!" Bella beams at him and pockets the chocolate. "No one else has given me one yet—though I suppose that's only because Mike is sick and I haven't seen Tyler and Eric yet. Well, I've got to get to English, I've already been late once this week—"

"Sure thing."

Jacob waves, watching Bella run off, and feels more pleased than he should at the fact that he was the first person to give Bella a valentine.

**

* * *

**

I originally had a segment with Bella giving Edward a valentine, but it didn't really fit, so I took it out. Too bad.

**RRE.**


	12. catch me as i fall

**This is the heartbreaking one of the piece. Well, for Bella. But it's actually sweet in a weird way. Once we get past Bella's broken heart…**

* * *

One day, Jacob is walking around behind the school during lunch, looking for Bella.

He sees her sitting huddled against the wall, hunched over and shaking, and he immediately runs to her, whispering, "Bella? Are you okay?"

Bella glances up at him, and he catches a glimpse of tears. "Bella?" he asks frantically. "What's the matter?"

Bella shakes her head quietly and moves over a little, as though trying to get away. Jacob sits next to her. "Come on, Bella. Please tell me what's wrong."

After a long, silent pause, Bella finally whispers, "I saw Edward today."

Jacob nods carefully. "Go on."

"He was—with that girl Rosalie—they were holding hands—" Bella sniffles, her chin wobbling dangerously. "He looked really happy—someone said they—they were—"

The word _dating_ is the one she tries to say, but it won't come out. Only sobs escape.

"I—" Bella swallows hard, rubbing at her wet face. "I just—"

"Oh, Bella."

Jacob puts his arm around Bella and pulls her close. "I'm sorry," he says quietly.

Bella nods. A bitter smile comes to her face. "I knew it. I knew I wasn't good enough for him."

"Don't say that, Bella!" Jacob says fiercely, his grip around Bella tightening momentarily. "Of course you're good enough. Edward's just an idiot, that's all."

Bella gives a choked laugh, takes in a shuddering breath. "I liked him," she whispers. "I really, really liked him."

And with that, she resumes her quiet sobbing—only this time, someone's there to hold her while she cries.

**

* * *

**

Edward doesn't show up again. I'm sure that some of you are grateful and others of you would like to bash me with a heavy object. To each their own, I suppose.

**RRE.**


	13. cheerleader

**Lauren appears. Not for long, and not in a good light. I don't like Lauren. Still, I figured at least one of the cheerleaders should have a name.**

* * *

When Jacob goes out for the football team sophomore year, Bella is there by the field during tryouts, cheering him on even though she has absolutely no interest in football.

With the faintest prick of (surely imagined) disgust, she notes the group of mostly blonde girls near the other end of the field, also cheering for Jacob in loud voices. One of them looks her way, whispers, and then the entire group comes toward Bella.

"Why are you here?" one of them—Lauren was her name, Bella recalled—asked roughly.

"I'm watching my friend try out for football," Bella replies coolly. "What's it to you?"

"Are you his girlfriend?" another girl asks.

Bella shakes her head. "No way. We're just friends."

"Then how come you're always hanging around him?" Lauren demands.

Bella's eyes narrow dangerously. "Because we're _friends_. Friends are allowed to hang out, thank you."

The girls all look suspicious, but finally they turn around and go back to their spot, screaming cheers for Jacob.

Bella stares after them, marveling at the number of times she's been asked that question. She wonders why some people just won't get it.

_We're just friends,_ she thinks again, turning back to the football field. And yet, somehow a little part of her mind can't help but wonder who she was really reassuring with that sentence.

**

* * *

**

I'm not trying to portray cheerleaders as any stereotype, I swear. It was just the first thing that came to my head.


	14. happy birthday

**And now for Jake's birthday, because it was never properly celebrated in the series and I want to make it a fun time. Yes.**

* * *

Jacob's birthday (November 12, as Bella has eagerly marked on her calendar) comes on a Saturday that year, and Bella goes over to Jacob's house early in the morning, grinning at the sight of him with ruffled hair and crinkled pajamas and a very grumpy facial expression.

"Happy birthday, Jake!" she says cheerfully.

"God, Bella," Jacob mumbles, rubbing his eyes. "It's seven thirty in the morning."

"Yep." Bella holds out a wrapped box. "Do you want to open your present now or later?" Jacob just glares at her sleepily. "Come on, you should be happy!" Bella continues. "Sixteen is a big age. Really big."

"You're just saying that because you're the one who's not tired."

Bella shrugs. "Maybe. Want some breakfast?"

"Sure." Jacob yawns. "You want anything? There's a watermelon in the freezer. It'll be kind of frozen, but you're welcome to have some."

"Sounds good to me."

They go downstairs and sit at the table, and Bella does the honors of getting the watermelon out and cutting it and serving it on paper plates, because she doesn't trust a sleepy Jacob with a knife.

"Here you go," she says, putting a plate in front of Jacob.

"Yeah, thanks," Jacob mutters. "Since when do you enjoy getting up freakishly early?"

Bella shrugs. "This is kind of fun." She sits down next to Jacob with her own plate of watermelon and a fork.

Jacob yawns again. "For you, maybe." His voice sounds a little more awake now. "Thanks for the present, Bella. I'll open it as soon as I take care of this."

Bella laughs. "Sure thing. Sorry I woke you up."

"Aw, it's okay." Jacob smiles. "I love you anyway."

Bella freezes.

"Hey, don't freak out on me!" Jacob says hurriedly. "That wasn't what I meant. I was just teasing—you know I was just teasing."

"Yeah…" Bella nods. "Yeah, of course. I get it. Sorry."

"Sorry I scared you." Jacob takes a big bite out of his watermelon. "I'm just kind of tired." He smiles. "That look on your face was priceless, though."

Bella raises her hand to slap his shoulder, but the gesture doesn't come out quite like she'd planned. For some reason, what she does is more of a brush. Jacob looks confused.

Bella goes slightly pink. "Just hurry up with your watermelon so that you can go open your present. It took me forever to find."

**

* * *

**

Jacob's birthday is never actually revealed in the series—it's only stated to be sometime during Bella's zombie period. So I just used my birthday. Heh.


	15. ringing in the new year

**And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for.**

**No, seriously. This chapter has a huge moment. Huge. Really.**

**New Year's party. Jake and Bell. (Have you guessed yet?) Enjoy.**

* * *

Billy hosts a huge New Year's party that year, and invites Bella and Renee over, along with a lot of his family. Bella is happy to spend time with Jacob and she likes Jacob's hilariously huge cousins, but the party is a bit too loud for her, so she feels grateful when Jacob pulls her out of the room and into the hallway.

"You're looking kind of shell-shocked, Bella," he says with a grin.

Bella makes a face. "I don't like parties."

"Then why'd you come to this one?"

"Mom wasn't about to let me spend New Year's home by myself."

"Fair enough."

They sit down against the wall, and in the room nearby, they can hear the TV announcing two minutes to midnight.

"Have you ever heard of that New Year's tradition about couples?" Jacob asks.

"That one where couples kiss at the stroke of midnight? Yeah." Bella nods. "It's so weird. Supposedly it's more romantic or something."

Jacob snorts. "Yeah. What a dumb tradition."

They look at each other, and then look away.

"A dumb tradition," Bella repeats softly.

They look back at each other, silent.

Finally, Jacob says, "Yeah." He nods. "I mean, it's not like you're _more_ of a couple just because you kiss at midnight. You're either a couple or you're not."

"You're right," Bella agrees. "There's no middle ground."

Their eyes lock. The TV in the other room announces thirty seconds to midnight.

"No middle ground," Jacob says softly.

They both look at the floor and realize that they've scooted closer together, so that their bodies are almost touching.

"None." Bella's voice is faint.

Twenty seconds.

Jacob raises his hand and touches Bella's arm. Bella flinches in surprise, looking at Jacob with widened eyes.

"Bella…" he whispers.

Bella swallows.

Ten seconds.

"It's almost midnight," Bella says quietly. "Just a few more seconds."

"Yeah…yeah."

And before either of them can figure out what they're doing, at the exact moment that the clock strikes twelve, they lean forward and into each other, their hands touching the other's neck in a liquid motion.

In the other room, cheering comes from the TV, voices talk excitedly, and in the hallway, Jacob and Bella kiss passionately as if the world were falling down around them.

**

* * *

**

OMGLIKEWHOASNAP.

**I told you it was huge.**


	16. running

**You might hate me for this one. But don't worry; it'll all turn out good in the end.**

* * *

Ever since the kiss, Bella's been avoiding Jacob.

She hides from him at school and stays in her room on the weekends, tracing her lips with a finger and thinking about the kiss.

_Why…?_

But 'why' isn't the question to ask, she realizes. The real question is _why not sooner?_

She thinks of all those times she told everyone that she and Jacob were just friends, that her feelings were purely platonic.

All those times.

_And Renee always said I was a bad liar,_ Bella thinks wryly. Maybe she's good at lying. Maybe Bella can lie well after all. Especially to herself.

**

* * *

**

Aw. Bella. Silly girl.


	17. this feeling inside

**And now, some Jacob introspection. Whoo?**

* * *

Jacob wishes that Bella wasn't avoiding him, but he understands why. With the memory of the kiss swimming in his head, he's feeling kind of shell-shocked himself.

And he's also shaken at the discovery of these new feelings for Bella—but no, they're not new. They've been there all along, and he's just never noticed before.

_I like Bella. I really like her. I might…I might even love her…_

The jealousy at the attention Bella gets from other boys, the strong desire he had last year to rip Edward Cullen limb from limb, the way he always stood up for Bella before—all of these take on a new meaning. A different meaning.

_Am I in love with Bella?_

He doesn't know the answer.

What he does know is that something is there. Desire, both his and hers. And it's not right to ignore it any longer.

**

* * *

**

Next one will have a little more…dialogue. Character interaction. Something like that.


	18. right here waiting

**And now, Jacob and Bella have a good old heart-to-heart. In the middle of the night. Nothing more romantic, huh?**

* * *

One night, Jacob steals the ladder from the barn and lowers it against Bella's house and climbs up to her window. He knocks softly at the glass, and a few seconds later, she yanks the window open, looking startled.

"Jake?" she says incredulously. "What are you _doing_? It's after midnight!"

"Come out," Jacob whispers. "I need to talk to you."

"Jake—"

"Please, Bella," Jacob begs. "This is important."

After several long seconds, Bella says reluctantly, "You're going to have to help me down."

Jacob smiles and helps Bella out the window and down the ladder, and they walk around to the back of Bella's house very quietly. They sit down in the grass, and Bella whispers, "What do you want, Jake?"

Jacob takes a deep breath. "I…I like you, Bella. I really do."

Bella turns her head the other way. "Don't say that, Jake."

"I mean it, Bella. I really like you. I might even…" His voice trails off uncertainly, then picks back up again. "I might even love you."

Bella gasps, finally turning to Jacob. "Jake—"

Jacob cups Bella's cheek with a soft hand, and Bella pulls back. "Bella," Jacob says softly.

"Jake, please don't." Bella moves back a little. "I'm sorry, I just—I'm not sure how I feel right now. Please give me a little time to think about it."

Jacob stares at her for a long time.

Finally, he says, "Okay, Bella. I understand. Take all the time you want. I'll wait."

**

* * *

**

Aw, Jake. You are, without a doubt, the sweetest guy ever.


	19. perhaps love

**Second-to-last chapter like omg. Tee hee. Bella finally comes to a good realization. More tee hee.**

* * *

Bella thinks about it.

Through the winter and the spring, through the rest of the school year, she thinks about it. And school lets out, summer arrives, and still she's thinking about it.

She knows that it's cruel of her to leave him hanging like this. She knows that he's waiting, even though it's killing him to wait.

And yet he's waiting for her.

He touches her now, sometimes. He touches her face and arm on occasion, and she never says anything because she isn't sure whether to push him away or kiss him.

She knows that she has to decide.

She has feelings for him. Somewhere, deep down, muddled though they are. Desire is there.

But what will happen if she acts on that desire? What if they start dating and something happens and they break up and never speak to each other again? She wouldn't be able to stand it if that happened.

And when did this even start? When did these feelings appear? When did she start to like (or was it love?) him, anyway?

It takes her a while before she realizes that it wasn't any sudden thing. It was a more subtle movement, happening in slow shades, one by one until it overflowed. It was never anything out of the ordinary. It was just the plain, simple way that two friends fell in love.

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The story wraps up next chapter, everybody. Look forward to it!


	20. together

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And here it finally is. With this, our lovely tale finally comes to a close.

**And this chapter is actually longer than half a page! I bet you guys are thrilled.**

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Billy holds another Fourth of July party that year, and Bella comes. She and Jacob act like normal friends most of the time, and then, right before the fireworks are set to start, she leans up and whispers into Jacob's ear, "Come with me."

They go around to the barn. Somewhere along the way, Jacob slides his hand around Bella's. Bella doesn't pull away.

When they're inside the barn, they sit down and push their backs against the wall. "So," Jacob says. "What's up?"

Bella bites her lip. "I…I like you, Jake." She stops and takes a deep breath. "I really like you."

Jacob doesn't answer. He can tell that she has more to say.

"But…" Bella continues. "I'm a little worried about…what might happen. I mean…what if we got together, and something happened, and we never talked to each other again?" Her voice comes in a frantic rush. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if that happened, Jake—I just—"

Jacob's finger lands on her lips, and she falls silent.

"It's okay, Bella," he says slowly. "I'm afraid of that too. A little."

Bella blinks. "Really?"

Jacob nods. "Yeah. But why should we let it get in our way? Even if we do break up someday, we can still enjoy what time we have, can't we?"

A faint smile comes to Bella's face. "Maybe we can."

Jacob leans in and plants a light kiss on Bella's forehead. "It doesn't have to be that much different," he whispers. "It's not like being a couple turns us into different people. We'll still do normal friend things, and we'll still hang around with other people. We'll still go to movies and eat frozen watermelons together and all the stuff we did before. We'll still be Jacob and Bella."

A smirk appears on his face. "We'll just be holding hands and kissing while we do it."

Bella blushes and looks away. "How do you know that?" she asks.

Jacob grins and raises his eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, you know you want to."

"Shut up, Jake!"

Jacob laughs and wards off her palm when she raises it to slap him. "I was kidding, Bells."

Bella sighs. "I know." She looks down. "I've never had a boyfriend before."

"I've never had a girlfriend before."

"I guess maybe this won't be so hard after all," Bella teases. "I won't be the only one with no clue what I'm doing."

"Excuse me? I know what I'm doing."

"Well…" Bella pretends to think. Smirking, she says after a moment, "I guess maybe you might know. I'll give you a chance."

Jacob smiles and nods. "Come on, Bella," he says, grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her to her feet. "There are some frozen watermelons on the table with our names on them."

Bella laughs, squeezing Jacob's hand enthusiastically. "Watermelon sounds great, Jake. Really great."

And so, hand in hand, Jacob and Bella walk back toward the party, smiling contentedly. Ready for their relationship, ready for whatever would happen in the future.

Ready to face it all together.

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And now, our story is over. Aw. I've really had fun writing this.

**Thank you all so much for your reads and reviews! You guys have been great. Be sure to check out my latest Twilight long-fic, ****Where You Belong****, which is chock-full of Edward x Bella x Jacob goodness, and longer than this one here will ever be.**

**Ta ta, darlings! **


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